


Unforgivable Trade

by charismapoison



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Lazarus Pit, League of Assassins - Freeform, M/M, Ra's kidnaps Tim, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-01-26 16:21:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12561348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charismapoison/pseuds/charismapoison
Summary: Bruce has done something unforgivable by trading Tim Drake to Ra's al Ghul in order to keep his son in Gotham and to keep the League out of Gotham, never expecting anyone to find out. He never counted on Damian hacking a file he encrypted and finding out the former Robin is with his grandfather eight years later or the adventure that ensues.





	1. Prologue

It was never a laughing matter when Ra’s Al Ghul came to Gotham City, but the matters at hand were even worse since he was coming straight to Wayne Manor where his grandson was fast asleep on the couch and Bruce was glaring at the older man. He hadn’t known that Damian existed for the last ten years, and now he was faced with having to relinquish all rights to him just because he was the heir to the League of Assassins. Talia had left him here with him, he had made him his Robin, and a month was not nearly enough time to get to know the young man that was obviously starved for affection. A deep breath left his lips, his cobalt hues taking in the sight of the Demon Head being led into the Manor by Alfred Pennyworth, who sniffed with extreme distaste but said nothing. There was a small part of him that was grateful that he had sent Nightwing to guard the rest of the city, but it was minute considering how good Ra’s had trained his people for as long as he could remember. Motioning for the man to follow him, the two headed into the lead-lined study that he used to keep out all eavesdroppers and anyone that might overhear anything that he didn’t want to get out.

“You know why I am here, Detective, my grandson being the heir to the League means that he needs to come back to the compound and set upon his duties to overtake my position someday, not galavanting about in some ridiculous get-up protecting Gotham. My daughter may let you get away with trying to keep him here with that whole Robin stays with Batman line, but that will not work on me,” Ra’s said calmly. He sat across the desk from Bruce, legs crossed and fingers clasped in his lap, his expression calm and calculating, at it always was, there was no way to trust him with anything that went through his head. He had proven to be an adversary that Bruce had found challenging and worth the chase, but that didn’t mean that he was about to send his only blood child with him. There had to be something that could be done to prevent this from happening, he needed to get to know the child and let him make his own decision, to let him see there was more to the world than death. “Unless we can make some sort of a bargain, a trade of sorts, detective, I implore you to hear me out,” Ra’s added, arching an eyebrow as a soft smirk trailed across his lips.

Bruce could tell from the man’s expression that he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear, but he was desperate to keep Damian here with him, with Dick whom he seemed to be opening up to. The only problem so far seemed to be Damian’s first meeting with Timothy Drake and the way that it had ended with Bruce sending Tim home and having Damian go on patrol with him that night. He hadn’t understood what the big deal was with giving Tim some time off, it wasn’t like the young man didn’t need the rest, let alone with all that had happened with the Joker the year before, he needed this time. “I’m listening, even though I have a feeling I am not about to like what I am going to be hearing, but the fact of the matter is that I want to have my son here with me. So, speak your piece and let me see how far I am willing to go to make that happen,” he said bluntly, his eyes focused on the other man firmly, cobalt blues eyeing him with great suspicion. There was something that Ra’s was going to ask that he was sure that he could never begin to agree with, but the nagging voice that insisted that he couldn’t let Damian go back to that wouldn’t stop whispering in his ear.

Ra’s shrugged his shoulders, getting to his feet to pace a bit, almost as if taking the moment to collect his thoughts to say what he needed, to word it in a way that would make Bruce understand what he was going to ask. “I propose to let you keep my grandson here with you, for the rest of his natural life of course, and to never again attack the people of Gotham or you without proper provocation. I’m sure you understand what that means, detective, that you would never again have to worry about the League infiltrating your city or to do anything against you that you would deem inappropriate. Now, you’re probably asking yourself what on Earth that I could want in order to give you not just one, but two things that we both know that you want more than anything of me. The answer to that is very simple, all that I want is for you to trade the boy that was able to hack my systems and thwart me at every turn without even having to try very hard in exchange for Damian and the safety of Gotham,” he said. His tone was calm and very matter of fact, his gaze falling on Bruce, who sat there stunned as he looked at him, unable to form a cohesive sentence to save his soul.

Bruce was unable to even move from the position he sat in, nor could he keep the shock off his face as he gazed at Ra’s, unable to even believe that he was musing this bargain over in his own head. There was something about it that appealed to him, to trade Tim Drake for the safety of Gotham and to ensure that his son grew up here, but that wouldn’t possibly be fair to the teen that had done so much for him. Still, he had only known him this well for the last year, when he had come to him knowing his identity and forcing himself on him to become Robin, insisting that he needed a Robin. And he had one again, he was sleeping in the sitting room with Ace at his feet and a book on his chest, Damian had taken to the uniform like a duck to water and didn’t even need additional training like the gymnast did. There was also the fact that the fourteen year old had nearly been tortured into mindlessness by the Joker the year before and wasn’t the most stable even after all he’d done to help himself. He wasn’t as close to him as he was to Dick or even as he had been with Jason and already found himself being with Damian, he had formed a wall there that had never been broken down.

It didn’t help the kid was so much like himself that it was worrisome, getting him away from the Bat and all that there was here in Gotham already might be his best chance at a somewhat normal existence someday. “What would be the terms of the trade, I won’t do it unless you can assure me that he will not be harmed or killed,” Bruce said firmly, his eyes hard and fierce as they watched Ra’s stop at the window. The moment the words left his lips he knew that he had already made his decision, but he didn’t want to give that away completely as he rose from his chair and moved to the window beside him. Ra’s was completely still as he turned to look at Bruce, tilting his head to the side as a smirk came to his lips while he shook his head at the question asked. “Detective, a brain like that would be nothing but an asset to the League, I can promise you a hair won’t be harmed on his head, you need merely never to intervene on his being there. It would mean that he would never see you or Gotham again unless he one day chose it once he’s of age,” Ra’s said calmly, the look exchanged between the two men nothing that Bruce was proud of.

“Agreed, so long as you make it look at though he ran away without a trace, people will believe that since he’s so smart and could truly disappear without a trace, and I don’t intervene unless I find out that he’s being harmed. In exchange you and Talia never interfere with Damian’s life here with me or the way that I train him, any harm comes to my son and I come straight to the compound to pick up Tim. And the bargain that we make is never to come up on either end,” he said, extending his hand to Ra’s, who took it and shook it firmly with a nod of his head, a smirk and a triumphant look in his eyes. “I believe, detective, that we have an agreement, I wish you well with Damian, he can be a bit headstrong,” he said, turning to leave to send his guard to collect his prize so they could be off. Damian was still fast asleep on the couch as Alfred sat in a chair near him protectively since there were League members milling about outside as Ra’s saw himself out and they were gone in a flash. Bruce dismissed the arched eyebrow that Alfred gave to him as he lifted Damian up from the couch with ease and took him to his room to sleep, a heavy wave of nausea settling in the pit of his stomach.

By morning it was reported that Timothy Drake had been missing from his room when the maid that woke him every morning saw his bed unmade and several clothes missing, insisting that he must have run away. Bruce saw to it personally that the League was made aware of Tim’s sudden disappearance, Dick seeking help from the Red Hood to locate him, but it seemed that the genius had disappeared without a trace. All of his friends from the Titans seemed to be at a loss, many of them stating that he never seemed like the type to just cut and run without telling any of them what was going on. As the weeks passed, it seemed hopeless that he would ever be found, and though he was never forgotten, life had to start moving on for them all no matter how much that it hurt.   
  


_ Eight Years Later _

 

“Tt, I don’t understand why I’m the one that has to go through the damn computer files to make sure that they are in order, if everyone merely went through the system properly then we wouldn’t be having this problem,” Damian Wayne said as he cleaned up case files. A frown crossed his exotic features, his emerald hues watching what he was doing as he listened to the sparring session on the mats behind him where Dick and Jason were. He was almost done now when a file folder he had never noticed before caught his attention, clicking on it and having to go through encryption to get it open, his eyes scanning it all over. Tilting his head to the side, he was rather confused at the things that were opening to him, photos and case numbers, a police report, and more. The eighteen year old got up to walk over to the mats, figuring that he could at least ask the two prior Robin’s about what this might mean to either one of them since it didn’t seem to make any sense to him. In fact, in the eight years of being Robin, this was one thing that truly made him want to scratch his head in confusion as his feet took him toward the two men that knew more about these things than he did.

“Come on Dickie, gotta be faster than that, not all of the bad guys are gonna get disarmed that quickly when they have guns, you’re gonna get your ass shot that way,” Jason was saying as he took Dick down again. The eldest, now twenty-eight years old to Jason’s twenty-four, grinned as he pushed the bigger man off of him as he saw Damian heading their way, cocking his head to the side at his expression. “Hey Little D, penny for your thoughts, seems like they’re consuming you more than usual and that you could use an ear to chew on for a bit,” he said, getting to his feet and offering Jason a hand up. The bigger male took it and stretched his muscular frame as he looked at the youngest as well, wondering what the expression on his face meant, it was one that he hadn’t seen in awhile. He knew that Bruce wouldn’t be back from patrol for awhile so that meant that he or Dick needed to be the one to get this out of him before then, hoping it was something they could help with. “Yeah c’mon kid, spill it,” he said, grabbing his towel and water bottle as he sat on the bench, Dick doing the same as Damian seemed to think about how he wanted to word what he wanted to say.

Damian frowned as he thought about it all, the name seemed more familiar the more that he thought about it but he couldn’t place it, there was a lot that was on his mind the more he thought about what he had come across. “I was doing the files as Father told me to, and I came across an encrypted folder that I admit caught my attention and curiosity so I managed to hack into it. There are many files pertaining to a police case and many other things but none of it means anything to me so I thought perhaps that it might mean something to one of you since you’ve been around longer than I have. Admittedly there is something familiar about his face and name but there’s nothing that I can find that tells me why that is, so can either one of you tell me who Timothy Drake is?” he asked. He looked between Dick to Jason, watching the way that Dick’s eyes seemed to become soft with sadness, it was a look he had seen come to Grayson often. He was surprised, however, to see a similar look come to the teal eyes of Todd, who had to clear his throat several times before he was able to open his mouth and let any form of vocalization come to his lips.

“He...wow, I haven’t thought about Replacement in a long time, kid was a fucking genius that took the uniform up after I died, he was damn good at it too, I gotta admit, figured out who your dad was, Dick and me too. He was Robin for about a year before you came along and you tried to take him out, said he was a threat to your future here in Gotham and Bruce had to separate the two of you. Blamed Tim for getting upset and egging it on, sent him home and had you go out on patrol with him instead, and a month later he was just gone without a trace, no one’s seen him ever since,” Jason said, Dick nodding. Getting to his feet, he dragged Dick with him as they followed Damian back to the computer to look over the files that he had discovered, curiosity burning within him worse than ever before. Clicking through them, Jason felt his eyes narrow as Dick gasped, some of the photos seemed almost current within the last few years, as though someone knew where he was. The question was, why hadn’t Bruce told any of them that there was speculation that there was knowledge of where the former Robin was and where they could find him to at least get answers.

Damian frowned as he stopped on one of the more current photos of Tim, it was taken from a distance but it was the scenery that made him really look closely, still not really remembering all that had happened upon meeting the boy one time. “That is the compound for the League of Assassins, I would know it anywhere despite not being there for eight years, you can’t mistake the symbols and the way the guard carry themselves. But what would he be doing there, there is no reason for him to have gone there,” Damian said, quirking an eyebrow as he looked at Jason and Dick in turn. Dick’s eyes were full of anger and Jason’s full of suspicion as the two looked at one another, there were a lot of questions that they had about that, especially since Tim hadn’t once contacted anyone that he had known. “I think that it’s time for me to go and see my grandfather to get a few answers of my own, there is something fishy going on,” Damian said as he sent copies of everything to his private computer and erased the trace of doing so. Without a word, he left the Bat Cave to make the arrangements that he needed in order to go to the League without anyone stopping him now that he was legally old enough. 

He would get the answers, he was sure of it.


	2. One: Gods and Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took me so long to get out, I have been really stressed out over some personal matters and had a ton of doctor's appointments. I may be adding a co-writer soon as well, I'll be sure to announce that if and when I do. 
> 
> Also, I have been finding inspiration via songs in order to write, so I do add the lyrics in to help me, feel free to suggest songs that you think that might help if you like!

{ **_It’s innocence lost._ ** }

It seemed surreal that he had been here for eight years now. Tim Drake sighed as he looked out the window of the chambers that he lived within, they were his home, his sanctuary, and his prison all in one. He missed Gotham, missed his friends, but he had long since given up on any of them finding him. The entire compound was lead filled, there was no way any Kryptonian could see or hear him from beyond these walls, he knew because he had tried, many times, to call for Conner, Superman, anyone that could hear him. He had tried to hack the computer once and found that he was not only under surveillance but that he suffered severely for it when it was discovered, which never took long. No, his years here had taught him many things, the main thing being that Ra’s al Ghul was a god among monsters as the Demon’s Head, and that he had chosen him specifically.

It didn’t make any sense at first, Damian was the blood heir, not him. And yet he was the one that was trapped here all these years. He was still angry at Bruce, there was nothing that would ever make him forgive him, not after all that had happened to him.

He could still remember it clear as day as it had happened.

{ **_I was an angel, living in the garden of evil._ ** }

_It wasn’t fair that the Robin suit was on the little shit that had shown up out of nowhere, forcing the fourteen year old male to watch as the ten year old made a big deal out of becoming what he had strived to be. Hadn’t he proved himself by single-handedly figuring out who the Batman was, by figuring out who the first and second Robin’s were? Had he not proved that he could handle anything by being tortured by the Joker to the point of losing his mind and bouncing back from that the year before? And all it took was Damian being dropped off by his mother to ruin everything that he had managed to secure for himself, to take everything that he had worked so hard for. And to just be dismissed by Bruce when Damian egged him on into a fight upon that first and so far last meeting, that was just the icing on the top of the cake for him._

_It was why he hadn’t bothered to go back for the last month, focusing instead on getting his life back together and on school, coming up with ideas to keep up with his vigilante lifestyle on his own if he had to._

_There had been no sign that anything was wrong on his way from from Gotham Academy on that rainy November day, arching a brow as he settled at the table for a snack and then headed upstairs to do his homework. There was no gymnastics practice due to the weather, he was almost thankful for it since his hips were aching from the cold, side effects of the torture that he had endured. Still, homework wasn’t anything that was interesting him at the time, he wanted to work on the outfit that he had drawn out, his new persona coming together in his mind during his time at school. The Red Robin would fly as soon as he got to work, and then he could team up with Nightwing or something, anything that kept him away from Damian Wayne al Ghul, whatever his last name was._

{ **_Screwed up, scared, doing anything that I needed_ ** _._ }

_He had fallen asleep at his desk, no one to wake him since it was just him and his housekeeper that night while his father and stepmother attended some fancy gala for Drake Industries that he had managed to avoid. Functions like that usually included Bruce and he would have the little demon in tow, that was the last thing that he needed when he was still trying to get his new concept off the ground. It was the sound of a thump downstairs, almost inaudible, that made him sit up sleepily, frowning as he got to his feet to investigate, his senses on high alert as he grabbed his bo staff just in case. When his door was thrown open, Tim managed to throw himself to the side and avoid the dart that was shot at him, swinging the staff to bring that man to his feet._

_The masks and uniforms were nothing he had ever seen before, who the Hell were these guys?_

_Though agile and well trained, the petite gymnast was no match for the sheer numbers that had come to attack him, and a well landed blow to his temple sent him sprawling onto the ground, moaning in pain. He had tried his best to hold onto his bo staff but it was kicked away as a needle pierced the skin of his neck, an overwhelming surge of exhaustion coursing through him a moment later. It was all black from there until he opened his oceanic hues once more._

{ **_No one’s gonna take my soul away._ ** }

_The cell bars were cold when he found them against his bare back when he rolled, groaning as he tried to sit up and found himself shackled, groaning as he fought to remember what had happened to himself. It was an effort to open his eyes, they felt swollen like he had been in the fight for his life, but then he remembered that he had been, and didn’t know why they had come to him. There was nothing familiar about the cell that he was in, for that matter there was nothing familiar about the things that he was seeing, fighting against his restraints to get away as a voice filled the room._

_“Ah detective, you are awake, good.”_

_That voice, he thought, he had heard it before, searching his eidetic memory for who it belonged to and compartmentalize why he knew him, taking all of a few split seconds for him to remember that it was Ra’s al Ghul. What in the world did Ra’s want with him? Did that mean that Damian was here? Were the others? He tried to get up again but the shackles pulled him back as the cell bars were opened and the older man walked in, staying far away from the angry teenager before him. “What do you want, why am I here?” Tim demanded to know, his eyes flashing as he tried to calm himself, remembering Barbara Gordon’s words about anger making his PTSD flare up._

_Ra’s looked almost amused at the teen’s anger, which only made Tim even more angry as he glared at him. “If you would calm yourself, I would inform you,” he said, his voice almost a purr as he watched Tim settle down at last. “Much better. You see, my grandson is the heir to the League but he is becoming weak, too much like his father even in just a month’s time, I can see it already. I need a strong heir, Timothy, one with a brilliant mind and the passion to rule, someone just like you,” he said, walking closer to the young man. A hand snatched the young man’s chin, cupping his face and stroking it with his long fingers almost tenderly._

_“Forget it.”_

_Ra’s narrowed his eyes, that was not the answer that he expected at all when he was obviously giving the boy everything that he could ever want. “Oh detective, there’s no saying no, you have been chosen and you will be molded to the role no matter what it takes for me to do so. Even if it costs me your soul, I will break you, and you will succumb.” He let Tim’s face go and rose to his feet to head out of the cell. “See to it that he doesn’t escape, have someone feed him just enough to keep him alive, he will see things my way,” the Demon’s Head said to the guards as he ascended the stairs to leave the prison._

{ **_Me and God we don’t get along._ ** }

_Tim had promised himself that first night that he wasn’t going to be broken, even when the guards told him that he should pray for mercy, pray that Ra’s changed his mind, but he knew that prayers were useless. He had turned to prayer after his mother, Janet, had died and they had never been answered, there were too many questions for him to believe that God was listening to him. No, he couldn’t believe anything that wasn’t tangibly before him in that sense, he supposed he could believe that there was something out there but he didn’t know, that was all there was to it. He had managed to escape his shackles a total of six times, his cell a total of three, and been beaten for it severely every time that he was captured, which never took them long at all. The League of Assassins were definitely a well oiled machine that he had no prior training to take on alone, and he was running out of options._

_It was one month, one week, and three days when he realized that he wasn’t going to be rescued yet again. He hadn’t been found for over a month when the Joker had him, and now it was happening again with Ra’s, and there was no Batman that was coming for him, no friends or allies that were coming for him._

_It was that realization that made him give in, knowing that if he played along that he might have a better chance of survival._

_What he hadn’t expected was that Ra’s al Ghul had thought of everything, and that he would have a spellcaster at his disposal to make sure that Timothy Drake was not going to escape his compound without some ramifications. It took only one escape for him to know that he didn’t want to try that again, getting only five miles away before the pain overtook him, as though he were physically chained to the place. The guards had picked him up and brought him back, saying that he should thank God that they had found him before the pain killed him._

{ **_God's dead, I said 'baby that's alright with me'._ ** }

_“Do you believe in God, detective?”_

_The question caught the fifteen year old off guard, looking up from the meal that had been placed before his bruised form, his escape making sure that he was punished once again and he could hardly sit upright. That wasn’t going to stop him from doing so, stubbornly putting up the front that he was fine when everything in Tim’s body was screaming for the pain to end by any means necessary. “No, there is no God, if there was then he wouldn’t let bad things happen to good people, he wouldn’t have taken my mother from me,” he said bitterly, looking back down at the meal before him and forcing himself to eat. A glance at Ra’s showed a smirk upon his lips as he at at the other end of the table._

_“You are very interesting, Timothy, perhaps you really are the heir that I need, and are at the proper age for many other things as well,” he said, watching him with his head tilted and his eyes focused on him in ways that made Tim almost squirm. He wasn’t allowed to wear much, usually just thin robes that left little privacy to his body, especially when Ra’s would watch him with intrigue._

_He hated it here._

{ **_You got that medicine I need_ ** }

_That night was the first that Timothy Jackson Drake spent in Ra’s bed, and the first night that he experienced things that he had once thought he would with someone that he loved, trying to keep himself from crying the entire time. It became a nightly affair, but it had its perks seeing as it meant that he wasn’t constantly under Ra’s watchful eye, though he had to be careful of the guards. The spellcaster came every other month to recast the spell that bound Tim to the compound, though he didn’t try to escape again, there was something that told him that it would be a very bad idea._

_He learned that when a mercenary came to the compound seeking payment for something he had done for the League and was refused, Tim grabbed and stolen from Ra’s before anyone could do anything._

_And that night he found out just what bound him to the compound._

_His body writhed and ached for Ra’s touch, the mercenary dropping him on the ground as he found himself speechless and grabbing for the man, to get some sort of relief from the pain that was welling within him. He was rock hard and aching, there was nothing that could stop, but his body told him that if he just offered himself to this man that he could get some of the swelling and pain to go down. The mercenary found himself too turned on by Tim’s actions when he pressed his cheek to his inner thigh to leave, allowing the League to find them easily enough and bring them both back. And the teen found himself in Ra’s bed moments later to help relieve what he was feeling, knowing that he never wanted to run again in case he felt that again._

_All hope was certainly lost._

{ **_I don't really wanna know what's good for me._ ** }

_Upon his twentieth birthday he was organizing the computer files for Ra’s, knowing that they were a mess and that he could come up with an algorithm that would help him immensely. It was that day he stumbled across an encrypted file that he was able to get into that had photos of himself and detailed notes between Ra’s and Bruce Wayne. His oceanic hues hardened as he slammed his fist onto the desk beside him, causing the guard watching him to jump as he got to his feet. His ceremonial robes had billowed about him, the robes that marked him as living within Ra’s concubine chambers and marking him as the Demon Head’s alone. “Ra’s!” he shouted, the older man coming into the room within mere moment of being shouted for, a brow quirked._

_“Timothy, whatever has you so distressed upon your birthday?” he asked, seeing the teen point at the screen, his eyes wandering over it all. A sigh escaped his lips._

_“What is the meaning of this?!”_

_Ra’s beckoned the young man to sit down, sitting across from him and regarding him seriously before he began to speak. “When I brought you here, it was upon an agreement that I reached with Bruce Wayne since he requested to keep my grandson with him. I suggested a trade, I would let him keep Damian, and never again would Talia and I interfere within his life from that moment on. In exchanged I gained a new heir to the League, you had already mastered how to hack my systems and thwart me, your mind is so vast and wondrous, so I chose you to be the heir that I desperately needed. He thought that it would be the best course of action for you, Timothy, that you were becoming too much like him and that you needed a change of pace as well before it was too late.”_

_Tim was stunned as he listened, shaking his head as he backed away from Ra’s, it was too much to comprehend. “Y...you’re telling me that Bruce let this happen, that he let the League take me so that he could keep Damian? That he believed that he was saving me?! And all these years I thought...he was never going to come for me because he fucking bartered me away like I was his to control!” His anger spilled over, backing from Ra’s touch, he didn’t want to be touched, he didn’t want anything at all as he stormed out of the room and towards the chambers that were now his home._

{ **_You tell me life isn't that hard._ ** }

Turning away from the window, he let himself fall to the ground, catching himself on his hands to start his morning workout, needing to get his head off everything that he had gone through over the last eight years. Scars still crisscrossed his body, burn scars from the electroshock therapy that the Joker had used on him still dark on his pale skin here and there was well, telling a story of the life he had left behind. Push-ups turned into sit-ups, lost in the routine that was the only thing that helped him keep his sanity, especially after nights that he spent in the old man’s bed, the only thing that kept his spell at bay. One day he would force that spellcaster to remove this spell, then he would castrate him before killing him, wouldn’t be the first man that he had killed while he was here.

Then he would kill the Demon’s Head, oh how that was going to be the sweetest course of action of his entire life once he was no longer tied to him and the compound. It was going to happen and he was going to relish every moment before he returned to Gotham to kill the man that was his reason for going through all of this for the last eight years of his life, that was all there was to it.

Standing up, he fixed his black boxer briefs before getting dressed in loose black pants and shirt, glad that he had finally gotten wardrobe choices that he liked, his black hair messy as he walked from his chambers within Ra’s quarters. He needed to see what was on the agenda today, see if there was anything that he needed to hack into in order to keep anyone at bay, or ruin someone’s life.

How fun that would be.

He was about to turn into the throne room just as the main doors were shoved open and the most handsome man that Tim had ever seen entered the room, his face contorted with anger as he walked in.

{ **_If I get a little prettier, can I be your baby?_ ** }

“Grandfather, I demand an audience at once!” the man yelled as he shoved guards away from him, a sword at his side as Tim gaped, this could only be one person if those were the words that were leaving his mouth.

That was Damian Wayne. Al Ghul. Whatever his last name was.

He couldn’t believe how much the little shit had grown, and how handsome he had become, no longer a shrimp with chubby cheeks, but a man of six foot four in stature and the body of a god, that was the only way to describe it. It was as if he had shed his skin and become an entirely different person from the child that he had met only one time so long ago, the child that had stolen everything from him. The child that was his reason for being here, though he wasn’t angry at him for it anymore, it was Bruce that had done this, not Damian, that was the bottom line and he couldn’t forget it.

“Damian, I was not expecting to see you after so many years, to what do I owe the occasion?” Ra’s asked as he walked in the opposite door with Talia at his side, both of them regarding the young man seriously. There was a rage within the male’s stance, his eyes focused on the older man as he sucked in a deep breath, Tim making sure to stay in the shadows where he could not be seen or heard.

“I am here about Timothy Drake, and what you have done with him.”

These were the last words that Tim had ever thought that he would hear, and now that they were there on the air, he felt his heart stop in his chest. He didn’t know what to say or think, how to react, he had given up on anyone coming here about him years ago, had figured everyone knew what Bruce had done. Perhaps he had been wrong, but instead of staying there to listen, he backed away from the doors and headed back the way he had come, he wasn’t ready for this, wasn’t ready to see what was going to happen.

  
{ **_No one’s gonna take my soul away._ ** }


	3. Author's Note; January 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a note to keep those updated

Hello all that have been enjoying this story so far!

I just want to apologize to everyone because I haven't had a chance to get a new chapter written due to a lot going on in my personal life. My pain levels have been through the roof (I suffer from fibromyalgia), my writing drive had decreased substantially (both for here and even my characters on roleplayer.me), my cat that we've had since 2000 just passed away two days ago, and just a string of hardships hitting hard right now that have me unable to write or get the drive to do so.

That being said, I fully intend to come back to this story as soon as I possibly can, I have enjoyed the feedback and love that people are are enjoying it. Here's hoping to get my muse back soon!

Thank you for your patience and understanding!


	4. Two: Bring Me Back To Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth comes out to an unsuspecting Damian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken me so long to get back to, my pain levels have been through the roof and it's been hard to sit long enough to do anything at all.

**_{The things I'm fighting to protect}_ **

“What I have done with him, Grandson?”

It was amazing that after this many years Ra’s al Ghul’s voice could still grate on his nerves. Damian had to work to keep his anger in check. This was not going to bode well if he couldn’t do that. He was here to protect Timothy Drake. That was all there was to it. Something had happened and he needed to get him back. There was no telling what had been done to the young man in the last eight years. The fact Ra’s had been able to keep this a secret made the young man even angrier. “Don’t toy with me, Grandfather, I know that Drake is here,” he snarled slightly, reminding himself to keep his anger in check.

“Well, of course, he is, where else would he be, Damian?” Ra’s gave him a quizzical look and spread his hands as if to say, what else would you expect of me.

That was not at all what Damian expected to hear. Now he was beyond confused. “I want to know why you took him! What on Earth made you think that we wouldn’t find out the truth as to where he is, what you’ve been up to?” He managed not to let his voice waver, he couldn’t show that he was not liking that he was back here. If anything, this was the last place that he had ever wanted to be.

**_{To help this broken body live another night}_ **

_ “Failure is not an option!” _

_ Damian could still feel the blood trickling down his back, wincing as his body tried to force itself upright. He was only ten years old and expected to be better than people over twice his age. His jade eyes caught his mother’s and watched the way that she turned away. Talia al Ghul was not about to stop his punishment here and now in front of her Father, lest she wish to take his place. The boy knew that his mother would never do that in a million years. She had faced her Father’s wrath more times than she was willing to admit, she wouldn’t do it willingly now. No, Damian knew that he was on his own and had to keep his broken body from giving out from the lashings that he had coming to him. Failure was not an option, he was the heir to the League of Assassins, he had to be better. It was demanded of him to be better. He would prove he was worthy. _

_ Even if it killed him, he thought bitterly, feeling the next lash come down on him. If he couldn’t withstand a whipping after a beating then who was he to say he deserved to be the heir? He wouldn’t fall before these peasants. Sweat beaded on his brow as he tried to keep all emotion off his face, all semblance of pain that could possibly show, there was nothing but anger and controlled rage. That was all that was allowed to be there, he had to show he was worth the training that was being pumped into him, the education that was being given to him. He needed to remember how lucky that he was to be born into such prestige no matter what he felt was missing. He didn’t know what it was, he just knew that there was something that he needed in his life that wasn’t there, and held onto it as he took his beating. _

**_{I did my part, I tried my best}_ **

Ra’s looked almost amused as he regarded his grandson with a stern look. “Oh grandson, so little you know. Don’t you realize that...well, perhaps the Detective didn’t tell you? Timothy is mine to have, it was a part of our agreement, as I told the young man upon his adulthood. He could have left at any time, yet he is still here.”

Something about his tone made Damian’s skin crawl.

“You have that disbelieving look on your face, Damian, I assure you that I am not making this up. Your father and I have a contract and everything. As promised, I kept my end of the bargain, I made it look as though Timothy disappeared without a trace. Your mother and I have not once tried to come and collect you. You were raised completely by your father without our interference. I never even brought up the agreement, that genius found the contract on his own, I couldn’t very well lie to him.” Ra’s smirked as he watched the emotions play on Damian’s face. Oh, what a game that this was to watch play out.

Damian suddenly wondered if Grayson or Todd knew anything about this. He doubted it, they would have said something when he said he was going to pay Ra’s a visit. Then again, they didn’t know he had gone already. There was only one person that did, and all it took was saying his name outside the compound. “Father would never...he could never do that to Drake, or to anyone at all. He would never hide such a thing.” Even his voice didn’t convey that he believed that. It all made sense. Minus the thought that Tim had stayed here of his own accord.

That sounded fishy at best. Especially if he knew the truth.

“I demand to see him.” 

“Impossible I’m afraid, he’s very busy today Damian, I suspect he’s probably sleeping to ensure that his training doesn’t overexert him. I am sure you remember what that is like. Perhaps if you had called in advance.” Ra’s smirked, obviously feeling as though he had won this round between the two of them. 

Knowing when he was beat, Damian let his shoulders slump in defeat, nodding his head. “Of course, silly of me to think that I could waltz in like I own the place. Perhaps another time.” He said, a low bow extended to his grandfather before he turned his back on him to leave. There was no way he was giving up that easily, this was merely a formality to see what Ra’s would tell him.

Drake was not going to be trapped here if he had anything to say about it.

**_{Battlecry, is the damage done?}_ **

As night fell and enveloped the compound, Ra’s found himself uneasy. Getting up, he moved to the door to the concubine chambers attached to his quarters, easing the door open. Timothy lay on his bed in a pair of silken pants and nothing else, a sheen of sweat across his chest and his window open to allow the night air in. 

Closing the door, he shook his head. There was something afoot and he wasn’t about to let it get the drop on him as he exited his chambers to go and search to see why he felt this dread in the pit of his stomach.

As soon as the door latched, Robin looked over the windowsill once more, climbing into the concubine chambers where Drake was. Looking down at the lithe body of the rather petite male, he felt a hitch in his chest. Timothy Drake was beautiful as he slept, the vigilante had to admit t himself, and it took all his willpower not to reach out to caress his cheek. Surprised at himself, he scoffed, the barest of sounds, but even he was surprised when bright oceanic hues snapped open to look at him. Almost before Robin could move, Tim’s fist came up right where his face had been and his legs kicked out, aiming for the younger man’s solar plexus.

“Tt, Drake, stop this at once, I’ve come to rescue you!”

Tim looked amused as he snorted, standing on his bed and using a gymnastic flip to land on the opposite side of it from Damian. “Oh that’s rich, eight years and finally someone thinks I’m important enough to come after. I know about the contract, Robin,” he spit vehemently, sure that all the others had to know about it as well, otherwise, they would have come for him. He was sure of it. Moving quickly, he was able to avoid the younger man when he launched at him, grateful for his petite stature when it came to this.

“I barely learned of it myself! There was no way any of us could have known. You are coming home with me.” Robin launched for him again, only to be thrown against the bed, the petite male sitting on his chest with a blade to his neck.

**_{This is what it's like when we collide}_ **

The effect was almost instantaneous.

Tim froze as he felt that familiar sensation crawling through him, the same one he got when Ra’s called for him for the night. Looking down at Robin beneath him, he realized that he was not just the son of Batman, he was the grandson of the Demon Head. His blood was the same. And he was powerless to the magic the Warlock had placed over him.

It was an effect that was not lost on Robin, who felt his breath quicken. “Tt, forgive me for this.” Before Tim could move, the vigilante delivered a blow to the older male, knocking him out completely and tying his wrists together with zip ties. Just in case. After all, the little shit had almost bested him a few times there. Robin couldn’t take the chance he came to and attacked again, not before they were out of there. 

He knew nothing of the curse that was on the other male as he threw him over his shoulder and headed for the window.

**_{I feel my time is running out}_ **

“He’s escaping with Timothy Drake!”

A cry exploded throughout the compound the moment that Robin had made it to the rooftops. He knew that he didn’t have much time, and there weren’t many options that he had. His jade eyes darted around to figure out his options in the few seconds that he had. “Tt, Kent, there is a body of water to the East of me, safest route I can go. Bring two breathers with you.”

It was all he was able to mutter as he was ambushed by assassins, his katana in hand at a moment’s notice. Metal crashed against metal as the young Robin fought his way through the men coming at him and trying to take the male that he had acquired from him. He wasn’t about to let that happen, not after what he had gone through in order to get him. Using a smoke pellet, he was able to get away from the hoard attacking him and take off at a run. Securing Tim in his arms, Robin leaped off the compound roof and over the side of the steep cliff beside it. He had faith that they would survive, though they never hit the water as his arm was gripped a moment before they were set to do so. Looking up, Robin breathed a sigh of relief as his fifteen-year-old best friend caught him and carried him.

“I’m going to tell my dad next time, I swear. You never give me enough time to get anything I need to do done,” Superboy complained as he carried the two deep into the trees below where the plane was hidden.

Robin rolled his eyes. “Tt.” It was all he would say on the matter as he secured Tim into one of the seats.

“I’m serious, Damian, I barely had time to get out of class!” Superboy said, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat in the co-pilot’s seat while Damian got them into the air.

“Quit being such a baby, corn cob, I’ll buy you ice cream for your troubles.” Robin said, smirking at the way Jon smiled at the offer while they headed back for Gotham City to take Tim home, the fact that the man was sweating profusely and trembling not lost on him. He would have to make sure Alfred looked him over thoroughly once they got there to make sure that there was nothing wrong with him.

**_{Who has lost and who has won?}_ **

“They’ve escaped, my Lord. We can go after them.”

Ra’s had his back turned to the assassin that was reporting back to him as he gazed out the window. “No. Let them go. He will see in due time that he needs to bring Timothy back to me at once when his body is burning up from being away from me. Besides, I have a much different method in mind.” Turning, he walked to the staircase that would take him down to the Lazarus Pit, though he didn’t stop there. Going around, he accessed a secret door that took him through another staircase, deep into the heart of a secret lair that no one but he knew about. Several people that he kept down here for his purpose scrambled around when he came.

“Fetch me Athanasia. It’s time that my granddaughter proves to me that all that I’ve invested in her has not been for nothing. And it’s time that she became of use to me. After all, the man she is going to be watching is her future husband, whether she likes it or not.”

Bowing, the men that had been training and raising the girl since birth when she was brought down here went to fetch Ra’s his granddaughter while he sat and waited.

**_{The fire in my heart will burn me to the ground}_ **

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing this prologue to see if this is something anyone would be interested in reading further so by all means please leave a comment and let me know if I should try to continue on with this. Also, feel free to bug me on tumblr, just look up charismapoison.


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